Shoulder Surgery is the Best Possible Thing For Mark Sanchez, On Many Levels

By Andrew Fisher

We’ve all the heard news by now that Mark Sanchez is likely done for the year after learning that he’ll need surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder. The news was actually somewhat shocking, because the injury was originally diagnosed as a bruised shoulder and the Sanchize was only expected to miss a few weeks of action. But now that he’s almost certainly headed for the operating table, most people are assuming that his days as a member of the New York Jets, are over.

Although it’s never good when an athlete has to undergo season-ending surgery, in this case, I believe it’s the best possible thing that could have happened to Sanchez. More than likely, he’s going to become a free agent once the season is over and then he’ll be able to start fresh with a new team. If he’s smart, he’ll go to a team with an open quarterback competition. If he’s really smart, he’ll go to a place where the media doesn’t even closely resemble New York’s.

The Sanchize needs to get out of the spotlight and back to just focusing on football. It has to be hard to do that while under constant pressure from Jets’ fans and NY media members.

Teams are also going to be more likely to take a chance on Sanchez next year because he won’t have a bad 2013 campaign hanging over his head. While you can never predict with certainty the outcome of a season, Sanchez was probably headed for a disastrous one with the Jets. If he had been able to fight back from this injury, he would have likely taken over a losing team and then driven them further into the ground. Now, his stock will remain in its current place – right above the toilet. A disastrous 2013 season might have effectively ended his career.